Friday Football: Big Game Weekend
No, not that Super Bowl thingie, which, as it turns out, is is not that super when it comes to global viewership anyway.
The big game for Southern California fans of real football is Landon Donovan's first taste of the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton at Anfield. Just walking out the tunnel into the sold-out stadium is guaranteed to give the Galaxy playmaker goosebumps. And the game is live at 4:30 a.m. on ESPN2HD.
Donovan will be seeking to erase the bad memories of the last time he played at Liverpool's stadium: a horrific UEFA Champions League performance for Bayer Leverkusen that pretty much killed his career in Germany back in 2005.
Sounds like he's up for it.
Here are some more previews including:
* The probable lineups.
* The game basics from the BBC.
(Updated 7:30 p.m. - BTW, I swiped this from Facebook just now: For those interested in watching this Saturday's Merseyside Derby, featuring Landon Donovan... Breakfast then Liverpool vs. Everton match at the Off Campus Pub in Carson, this Saturday, Feb. 6. Breakfast will be served at 9 a.m., replay of the game will start at 10 a.m. $3 beer, $2 mimosas.)
Click to your right for the full slate of this weekend's games, but I recommend checking out the Chelsea-Arsenal encounter at 8 a.m. Sunday on Fox Soccer Channel.
What else is going on this morning?
*Well, John Terry has lost his cherished England captaincy ahead of the World Cup and that crucial opening game against the U.S.
*The Galaxy Friday announced it will play a preseason friendly at 7:30 p.m. March 10 against Costa Rican team Puntarenas at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium. Galaxy season ticket holders may purchase tickets for $10 beginning Monday; the cost to everyone else is $20 and those tickets go on sale Wednesday.
*Former Galaxy player Tony Sanneh reflects on his career and his time with the club here.
*2008 Galaxy draft pick Julian Valentin has joined the reformed Tampa Bay Rowdies of the USL.
*Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy is raring for the MLS season to start after missing last year through injury.
*Chivas USA scored four goals in 13-minute span, including two by striker Maicon Santos, in a 5-1 victory over Loyola Marymount University in a preseason scrimmage Thursday at Home Depot Center. Check out the lineups (and I wonder how close the team that played the first 45 minutes is to the club's lineup on opening day?):
Chivas USA (first half)- Zach Thornton, Jonathan Bornstein, Carlos Borja, Michael Umaña, Carey Talley, Jorge Flores, Marcelo Saragosa, Sacha Kljestan, Michael Lahoud, Maykel Galindo, Justin Braun.
Chivas USA (second half)- Jon Conway, Kevin Tangney, Emilio Viades, Matt McManus, Miguel Sanchez, Gerson Mayén, Ben Zemanski, Blair Gavin, Chris Ross (Cesar Zamora 70), Artur Aghasyan, Maicon Santos.
About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
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